Payment cards such as credit or debit cards are ubiquitous. For decades, such cards have included a magnetic stripe on which the relevant account number is stored. To consummate a purchase transaction with such a card, the card is swiped through a magnetic stripe reader that is part of a point of sale (POS) terminal. The reader reads the account number from the magnetic stripe. The account number is then used to route a transaction authorization request that is initiated by the POS terminal.
In pursuit of greater convenience and more rapid transactions at POS terminals, payment cards have been developed that allow the account number to be automatically read from the card by radio frequency communication between the payment card and a “proximity reader”, which device may be incorporated with the POS terminal. Such cards are often referred to as “proximity payment cards” or “contactless payment cards” or “smart cards”, and typically include a radio frequency identification (RFID) integrated circuit (IC), often referred to as a “chip” embedded in the card body. A suitable antenna is also embedded in the card body and is connected to the RFID chip to allow the chip to receive and to transmit data by RF communication via the antenna. In typical arrangements, the RFID chip is powered from an interrogation signal that is transmitted by the proximity reader and received by the card antenna. MasterCard International Incorporated, the assignee hereof, has established a widely-used standard, known as “PayPass®”, for interoperability of contactless payment cards and proximity readers. It has also been proposed to use wireless exchanges of information via NFC (Near Field Communication) for payment applications.
The capabilities of a contactless payment card have also been incorporated into electronic portable devices or mobile devices, thereby turning such mobile devices into contactless payment devices. For example, key fobs and mobile telephones have been provided with integrated circuitry that has the same functionality as the RFID IC of a contactless payment card. The mobile device and/or contactless payment device typically also includes a loop antenna that is coupled to the payment-related IC for use in sending and/or receiving messages in connection with a transaction that involves contactless payment.
This disclosure presents apparatus and methods for providing a standard approach to couponing in the context of a contactless purchase transaction. In particular, novel features and ways of interacting with a contactless payment device, such as a payment-enabled mobile telephone, to facilitate purchase transactions that include the use of coupons, loyalty points, travel pass and the like, are described. Such operation enhances the speed and convenience of transactions that involve the use of coupons, loyalty points, travel pass, and the like with contactless payment-enabled mobile telephones or other payment-enabled portable devices.